India reports biggest one-day virus spike as lockdown eased

Published April 20, 2020
Policemen inspect vehicles at a checkpoint in New Delhi on April 20. — AFP
Policemen inspect vehicles at a checkpoint in New Delhi on April 20. — AFP

India recorded its biggest single-day spike in coronavirus cases on Monday as the government eased one of the world's strictest lockdowns to allow some manufacturing and agricultural activity to resume.

An additional 1,553 cases were reported over 24 hours, raising the national total past 17,000.

At least 543 people have died from Covid-19, the respiratory disease caused by the virus, and epidemiologists forecast the peak may not be reached before June.

The shelter-in-place orders imposed in India on March 24 halted all but essential services. Starting Monday, limited industry and farming were allowed to resume where employers could meet social distancing and hygiene norms, and migrant workers can travel within states to factories, farms and other work sites.

Read: In Modi's India, virus fallout inflames divisions between Muslims and Hindus

In the event a group of migrants wish to return to their places of work within the state where they are presently located, they would be screened and those who are asymptomatic would be transported to their respective places of work, India's home ministry said in a letter to state governments.

However, government surveys in the central Indian state of Maharashtra, the worst-hit by the virus, have suggested few companies eligible to restart operations can do so because they are required to transport and shelter workers as a virus-prevention measure.

The loosening of restrictions comes as India continues to ramp up testing, build up stocks of ventilators and personal protective equipment and prepare makeshift isolation wards and dedicated Covid-19 hospitals.

In Mumbai, the capital of Maharashtra and home to Asia's largest slum, city authorities were planning to administer hydroxycloroquine to thousands of slum dwellers over 14 days to gauge whether the drug helped to slow the spread of the disease in a place where social distancing norms aren't possible to achieve.

It was unclear how many people would participate in the experiment, or when it would begin.

President Donald Trump has touted the malaria drug to treat Covid-19, though its efficacy against the disease is unproven.

Opinion

Editorial

Spread of hate
Updated 18 Jun, 2025

Spread of hate

HATE speech is not confined to words; in fact, there is a causal link between hateful rhetoric and real-world...
Big challenges
18 Jun, 2025

Big challenges

BALOCHISTAN’S Rs1.028tr budget, featuring a public development investment of Rs245bn and provincial surplus of...
Rampant disinformation
Updated 18 Jun, 2025

Rampant disinformation

WITH the arrival and proliferation of digital media, the creation of information is now a decentralised function,...
Window dressing
Updated 17 Jun, 2025

Window dressing

Meanwhile, the provinces lack the resources and expertise to implement adaptation measures effectively.
No revenue effort
17 Jun, 2025

No revenue effort

WITH the ruling PML-N’s next budget unfolding large infrastructure schemes, and expenditure focusing on service...
Pomp and circumstance
17 Jun, 2025

Pomp and circumstance

THE sight of columns of tanks rolling down a boulevard, accompanied by troops goose-stepping in lockstep, was a...